Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Citron Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Butter a jelly cake tin and arrange the citron rings around the edges.
Make the batter
In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy.
Add the egg yolks, then alternately mix in the flour, brandy, and beaten egg whites.
Chop the remaining citron and fold it into the batter.
Bake
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 25 minutes.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender crumb by coating flour particles with fat.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, creamed with butter, traps air that helps it rise.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Whites add lift and structure, while yolks add richness and moisture.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise in the oven.
- Citron
- Adds its bright, candied-peel flavour and a chewy texture throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Alternately mixing in the flour and egg whites. Stir only until the flour is just combined. Overmixing develops gluten, which makes the cake tough and dense instead of light.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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